How a hostile posting could punish an age-of-sail officer

What was the worst age-of-sail posting an officer could receive as a punishment?

A disease-prone African or distant Far Eastern station, or an icebound northern assignment, could be a deliberately miserable and dangerous posting.

An unwanted posting was a powerful instrument in an admiral's hands. West African and very distant Far Eastern stations exposed an officer to disease, isolation, and difficult conditions. Escorting whalers toward Iceland offered a different hazard through cold, ice, and severe weather. Northern Canada and the so-called fever islands provided further ways to send an inconvenient officer somewhere with a low chance of returning healthy. Patronage and personnel administration could impose consequences without a court-martial or duel.